SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT FESTIVAL OF TREES
By Brett Browne

The Festival of Trees is not only a celebration of everything Christmas, it is also a great way to sample the best entertainment that our community has to offer.

The annual celebration Christmas kicked off this past weekend with a glittering display of holiday finery at the annual Festive Feast and continues this week with the Teddy Bear Disco on Wednesday night, and the actual Festival of Trees which gets underway Friday.

Teddy Bear Disco

One of the most popular events associated with the Festival of Trees each year is the Teddy Bear Disco. Organizers are expecting between 400 and 500 children and their parents to take part in this fun-filled evening, starting at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 19, at the Camrose Regional Exhibition.

There has been a change in format for this event, which organizers are calling "Dine and Disco." This year, instead of breaking in the middle of the disco to eat, each of the children participating will receive a ticket for a hot dog, pop or juice, and potato chips which they can pick up when they arrive.

"I've talked to a couple of mothers and they're really happy about that, because the kids felt that they didn't get enough time to disco when we broke in the middle. They want to get at it and stay at it," explains Citizen Advocacy coordinator Betty Friesen.

Also for those who dress up for the Teddy Bear Disco there will be a prize for the best dressed family.

The Teddy Bear Disco is designed for children from 6 to 12 years of age, though parents and other family members are welcome.

Festival of Trees

The actual Festival of Trees celebration opens on Friday, November 21, and will feature almost non-stop entertainment.

First-time entertainment chairman for the Festival of Trees Cathie Johnson predicts a tremendous weekend of entertainment.

"People are going to be impressed with our lineup," she states. "I think we have some incredible talent in Camrose and in the area."

Johnson says this year the entertainment schedule is spread over all three days of the festival. For the past several years, there has been special programing on Sunday, including gospel and country music. Johnson says the change this year has allowed the Festival to bring back some performers people haven't seen for a while.

"This year we have a lot of singers; a lot of people who had been away for a while and haven't been part of it, who are back because we've opened up Sunday again," she explains.

Also, Johnson says she is encouraging performers to go beyond traditional Christmas music in their song selections this year.

"It's entertaining to hear some other songs as well so we'll have a mixture of both," she says.

There will also be a different stage set up this year. Gone will be the huge grand-stand seats in favour of smaller more intimate seating arranged around the stage to create more of a theatre-style feel for the venue.

Entertainment gets underway on Friday around 12:30 p.m. with several bands and choirs including: the Bashaw Band, Charlie Killam Band, the Camrose Composite High School (CCHS) Chorus, the Camrose and Area Children's Choir, and the Camrose Community Band (in the evening) There will also be a presentation from the CCHS Drama and Churchmice Players collaboration of The Other Side of the Pole, as well as individual performances by Myra Marshall, Hal Strudwick, and Jessica Dostie.

The entertainment resumes on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and runs until 4:30 p.m. Kicking off things is the Rose City Brass, a new group featuring CCHS music director Tom Spila. The dancers then take over with the Camrose Academy of Dance, followed by the Veselka Ukrainian Dancers, and Ballet Camrose. Other entertainers on Saturday, include Connie Stollery, Sangkor, and Blue Thistle. There will also be sampling from About Time Productions Players of the upcoming musical Grease, which will debut this spring.

"Our whole group is going to sing the Rydell High Alma Mater song, which sounds really good, and then the guys are going to dance to Greased lightnin'," explains Johnson.

Marj Pudlowski gets the entertainment underway on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. She is followed by Julia Vos and the Vos Family, Joanne Vandergrift, Adel Johnson, Daphanie Wadstien, and The Link Family.

SPIRITS OF CHRISTMAS CRAFT SALE THIS WEEKEND

The Spirits of Christmas Craft sale, a fundraiser to support programs for the Camrose Arts Society, runs in conjunction with the Festival of Trees each year.

In 2008, for the first time the sale will include commercial vendors along with the ever-popular, substantially hand-crafted items that have made this show popular throughout the region for the past 30 years. Items available this year include woodworking, sewing, art, quilting, candles, ceramics, food, toys, and aromatherapy products.

The commercial vendors will be in the Kinsmen Hall, located on the east side of the concession foyer, and include many popular home decor, cooking, and personal items.

Spirits of Christmas runs the same hours as the Festival of Trees (Friday, November 21, noon to 9:00 p.m., Saturday, November 22, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday, November 23, noon to 5:00 p.m.)

Come out and get your Christmas shopping started and support the Camrose Arts Society and the many creative people selling their products at the event.